SEC Football: 3 renewed rivalries when Texas and Oklahoma join
3. Texas vs Arkansas
Rivalry History
Texas played Arkansas every year from 1928 to 1991 in the old Southwest conference. But after Arkansas left for the SEC back in 1991, they have only played 6 times since 2000.
They first met in 1894 where Texas won 54-0 and have 79 total meetings.
Arkansas has won the last two meetings. They won the Texas Bowl 31-7 and the “Welcome to the SEC” game last season, 40-21.
Texas leads the series 56-23 and holds the longest win streak in the series at 14.
Notable Games
The 1964 matchup saw No. 9 Arkansas beat No.1 Texas 14-13 on their way to an undefeated season and National Championship.
The 1969 Game of the Century was between No. 2 Arkansas and No.1 Texas. President Richard Nixon was in attendance and gave a plaque to the eventual winner declaring them the National Champion. The Longhorns won by staging a fourth quarter comeback down two touchdowns to win 15-14. The game was nicknamed “Dixies Last Stand” for being the last major American sporting event to be played by two all-white teams. Later that year Texas would beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and were selected as National Champions.
The 1981 matchup saw the largest victory by an unranked team over the top ranked team since World War II. Unranked Arkansas beat No.1 Texas, 42-11.
The 2000 Cotton Bowl between the Razorbacks and Longhorns marked the first game of the 21st century. Arkansas won 27-6.
The Future
Texas vs Arkansas still holds merit within the two schools and it’s the longest standing rivalry that Texas has with a team currently in the SEC, outside of Texas A&M.
When the Longhorns join the the conference, their rivalry with the Razorbacks will be permanent for as long as they’re both in the conference.